Members Only

I came across this article written by Tyler Green regarding the state of museum memberships. Having spent a number of years working in various museum membership departments, it made me think a bit, and I have to agree that there simply has been very little innovation in museum’s membership drives.

I did my own little survey of benefits offered by various museums and institutions in this area and some of the major ones along the east coast. I looked at the Smithsonian Institution, Chrysler Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Baltimore Museum of Art, and, closer to home, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, University of Virginia Art Museum and Second Street Gallery.

For the Individual level (costs range from $30 to $75) benefits usually include a collection from the following list:

- Free Admission (but plenty of university museums and the Smithsonian don’t charge an admission fee.  In Baltimore, the Walters and BMA also no longer charge an admission fee);
- Free or discounted admission to special exhibits;
- Discount at the Museum Gift Shop and Cafe (generally 10%);
- A personalized membership card;
- A quarterly newsletter or calendar;
- Advance notification of exhibition announcements, gallery talks and luncheons;
- Discounts on other pay-for activities and travel opportunities;
- Members only preview receptions;
- Reciprocal benefits with other area museums (however, this is often only offered at the higher membership levels.  And, many university museums offer this benefit – but, as mentioned before, most university museums do not charge an admission fee);
- Free or discounted parking;
- And (my personal favorite), recognition in the annual report.

This has been the same list of benefits offered for as long as I can remember.  There has been virtually no innovation for decades.

From my days working in museum administration departments, I can’t say I blame the membership personnel for this lack of innovation. As a whole, I found that the higher-ups (i.e. directors) considered the lowly individual members to be more of a nuisance and an expense. Simply put, marketing for someone’s annual $30 was not worth it to the museum director. He was far more interested in landing the big donors and grants. Why put your effort in brining in 100 new members at $30 when that same time and effort should be put into landing a patron at the $3,000 gift level? I always hated that attitude. I found it to be elitist and shortsighted.

With that said... Some museums do offer its members more than cheap wine at a preview party and reduced parking rates. To really get something out of your membership, I suggest looking into joining the more specialized groups at your local museum. It costs a little extra, but I believe the focused interests and benefits these groups offer return far more bang for the buck. For example, the Smithsonian has a Young Benefactors group; MoMA has a list of Affiliates to choose from; the Baltimore Museum of Art has its Friends Groups; and The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has various Support Groups too. Check them out.

There are also private “young collectors” groups springing up. Some of these are offered through galleries, but most are individually run. Here you get some great tips from experienced collectors and access to their collections. The parties are better and the wine is much tastier too.